


The Long Road Ahead

by themysteriousinternetentity



Series: Life's a Journey [1]
Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Body Horror, Gen, Kidnapping, Panic Attacks, Self-Insert, Sort of? - Freeform, Torture, but headed off with good coping mechanisms, it's as minor as i guess it can get but like can torture be minor, it's minor for this fandom lol, okay i'm not sure how to properly tag for it but:, vaguely, who knows not me, wow such an idealized self-insert lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 15:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17665496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themysteriousinternetentity/pseuds/themysteriousinternetentity
Summary: Part of how Timothea ended up where she did-from her home in our dimension, to her first interaction with the people of Europa





	The Long Road Ahead

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Gift of the Dreen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448273) by [phoenixyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixyfriend/pseuds/phoenixyfriend). 



> I should be working on my next chapter in Twists and Turns, but here! Have this instead! :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Genius and make no claims of such. I write fic for fun and to show my love for the comic. I make no money off of this and do not want to. My works are not approved by, sponsored by or affiliated with Studio Foglio LLC or Airship Entertainment.

            The woman yawned. It was far too late at night for her to be out and about, but homework problems wouldn’t do themselves. They would _due_ themselves, heh! That didn’t even make sense. She was clearly into the slaphappy part of the evening.

            Thankfully she’d finished said homework, and was now leaving the campus library. A cold wind blew past, and she pulled her coat tighter around herself and zipped it up quickly. It had gotten _cold_ while she was in there. Well. She shouldn’t be surprised, she’d gone in at…6:30 pm? And it was—she checked her phone—2:30 am. Yep, that would do it.

            With another yawn, she sped up her pace towards her dorm. Maybe if she got there quickly enough, the temperature wouldn’t wake her up too much, and she could just…slide into bed and go straight to sleep. For the whole 5 hours maximum she had before her 8am lecture. _Why_.

            As footsteps sounded behind her, she looked nervously over her shoulder. Nope, just another girl heading down the path. Not that girls couldn’t _also_ be muggers, actually. She walked a little slower and let the girl pass her. People behind her made her NERVOUS this late.

            She yawned _again_ , her eyes closing for a moment. When they opened again, a hooded figure loomed over her. S̢̰͍̼̦͕͕̝̟̗̅̾̈́̒̕̕l͙̮̹̰͓̘͇̲̎̓͛͂̍͗̌̓́͟͟͝ȅ̟͈̲͇̘̦́̔̋̾̉e̴̙̘͇͔͈͔̳̦͛̈́̿̊́͟͞p̜͔͔̹̩͆͌̌͌̍̆̊͢ͅ, it said simply, pressing a long ( _too long, far too long, that’s not human what is this what’s happening_ ) finger to her forehead.

            Everything faded.

_

            When the woman’s eyes opened, she immediately tried to jump back. This attempt was quickly halted due to the fact that she was sitting in a chair in front of a desk. The… _a_ hooded figure sat at the desk, an array of papers in front of them. Was it the same one? She sure didn’t know.

            **You’re awake. Good.**

            “Who are you? What do you want with me?” She demanded. She’d become strangely calm, ice coursing through her veins, and she was hyperalert, taking in every detail of the figure in front of her.

            There weren’t many. A strange, green visor covering whatever eyes might be there. A black hood and robe, a strange hat with a veil, and _those hands_. Long and spindly fingers (that there weren’t enough of), a strange blue-green that just screamed _wrong_.

            All of this was _wrong_.

            **We are the Dreen. You may call me Mortimer.**

            …okay then. Wait. “The Dreen? That’s not-” The weird visor, the BEEKEEPER HAT… “You can’t be. They aren’t real! They’re from…from a stupid comic!”

            **Spare me your doubts, I’ve heard them many times before.**

            He? They? They shuffled through the papers on the desk, pulling out a folder from the bottom of the pile and setting it down with a thump.

            **The comic is a reflection of an alternate reality, a differing timestream where Sparks exist.**

            “Oh. Parallel dimensions.”

            **Precisely. You have been chosen to enter this timestream and fix it.**

“Fix it?”  
            **Correct.**

            “I…you must have the wrong person.” She chuckled awkwardly. “I don’t think I could-”

            **But we do. We see all of time in every dimension, everything that could be, has been, or will be.** Y̧͔̥̘̙͆̅̃̄͐͊ò̵̧̖̥̱͇̙̥̬͒̃̊̾͊͟͜u̡̹̯̫͎̝̬̜͙̿̌̊̚͠ w̴̧͓̩͙̤̋͌̈́͌̀̑̌͟͢͠͝ī̛͚͎͍̫̮̳̉͗̄̀̅̍ļ̡͍̠̘̪̤̄̎̾̂̐̀͟ḷ̵͔̖̺̤̻̺̤͌̌̽͗̒̈́̂͞ e̩̻̯̦͓͗̐͒̆̄̾͘͞͝͞ṅ̫̯̗̭͓̳͎̜͚̲͊̌̈̈́̊̓͊̓͝ţ͕͖̤̣̰̖͍̯̯͛̏́̓̆͐̚͝e̠͉̺̹͂̒̄͌̓͢͟r̴̢̛̗̘͎̹͕̪̂̉́̀͗̎̓͜ ṱ̴̲̞̲̬̻͑̿̓̑̐͞h̶̛͍̦̹͖͈͓̯̅͌͐͛̅̊͘͜͢͟ĕ̵̢͉̗͖̭́̅̈́̈́͒̕̚̚͢ ṯ̵̡͎͔̙̣̉͊́̇̅̄̒͊̚ị̮̼͍͗̄̋̅͗̀͜͠m̸̹͇͕̯̭͎͎̯̟̂̆͗̐̊̐̋̎͐͘e͈͍̳̤̟̘̱̿͗̀͂̈̓̀̊͠ o̟̼̮͈̬͖͚͇͖͒͆͗̈̋̃̐͟͠f̯͎͓̬̖̹̗̌͌͊̾̐̓̽͘͘͡ t̷͕̬͉̺̂̿͑͆̈̌̉̂͢͜h̵̥͇͕̠͉̝̩̉̂̉̔͐̌ȩ̺̯̠̗̪͐̇͂̐̇̌͋͒̉ S͎̼̻̠̣͙̣̦͋̅͒͆͡t̛̼̗͈̰̩͔͚̮̉̆̎͗̋̈́͋͠ō̠̗͚̖̗͎͋͊̋̇̾͟͟͢͞ͅr̝̥̪̥̠̝̯̘̤̊̓̑̅̐͜m͎̗͍͙̻̲̆͗̃̇͗̌͋̚͞ K̖̺͔̙̯̻̬̓͐̀̍̆͂̚͞ͅị̬̠͈̎̾͆̊̾͜ͅn̷͈̠̭̦͉̠͍̋̑̄̈́̚͜g̮͔̜͈̹̈̒̕̕̕͞ ạ̡̼̮̹͙̭̜͈̠̾͆̾̅̈́̚͞ṅ̨̙̻̠̠̭̹͈͇͙̆̆̅̀̒̊ḋ̸̼̻͓͔͎͔̊́̀̄̕̕̕͠͝ y̡̦̦̪̼͆͗͆̔͋̓̚͜ő̴̧̙͉̻̘͔̫͚̂̄̊̈́͂̾͘̕͞ų̸̨̨̣̥̈̂̈̈́̂͊͌̚̕͞ w̡̦͉͈̥͙̍̑̑̂̐͋̎̾͌̕͜͜i̼̝̙̦̮̐̈́͐̈́̈̑͘͟͟͠͞l̴̛̥̣͑̊́̿̊͌̿͘͟͟ͅͅl̨̛̤̤̯͔͔̏͑̓͗͗̀͢͝ f̴̨̞͈̔͋̀̈́̇̈́͢͢ĩ̶̧̘̪͕̣̇̇̾͛̎̈́͊͂́͢x̵̰͍͇̖͂̆̈́͐͒̑̅͜͡ t̷̹̥̟͐͌̈͊͋̃͊͟͟͝ḧ̢̨̯̰̝̬͕̖̤́̅̔̂͌e̴̡͇̺̻̞̣͈̮̓̍̿͊̌̅̕͡ͅ ḥ̰̬̙̠̘̹̊̐̕̕͠ơ̲͔̠͔̙̍̽͑̚͡l̶̹͎̞̮͊̒͑͆̚͠͠͡ͅe̷̟͕̟͍͂͆͌̄̈͟š̸̛͎̺̞̼̣̦̝̿̎͑͟.̷̢̛̛̙̤̜͖̙͍̹̿͒͐̑̈͟ͅ

            A shudder ran through her at that. “Okay, okay. What holes? And the Storm King? I don’t know very much about that, the comic didn’t mention much besides the zombie, and-”

            **You know what you need to know. Beware of what will happen if you fail.**

            “Okay, hold on. I definitely do not know what I need to know. Are we talking cross-dimensional handyman? Am I going to get spacetime duct tape? Or do I have to go convince people to do things differently? And HOW can I fix holes if I don’t know what and where they are? You can’t just jump to the ominous warnings. And how long is this going to take?”

            **Time is irrelevant.**

            “It might be to _you_. _I_ , however have an exam in two days, and a meeting tomorrow, and I can’t just-”  
            **Those are now irrelevant.**

            “Excuse me? You can’t just say that. They’re vital for my future goals, and-”

            **Those goals are irrelevant.**

            “What? Okay, you know what? No. Pack it up, send me home, absolutely not. I’m not doing it.”

            **You do not have a choice.**

            Her blood ran cold. Ah. That’s right. He’d kidnapped her, hadn’t he? Just. Yanked her off the street. Her words were slow and careful. “And…what happens if I don’t cooperate? If I refuse to go find the holes, or try and tell everyone the things I know about the future? That would make it worse, wouldn’t it?”

            **It would. Which is why, if you were fool enough to try such a thing, ţ̵̢͙͖̫̊̏̉̃̍̃͑̊͆h̷̗̹̥̙̋͗̏͋̐̑͟į̢̛̱̳̑́̓͛̐͢͡ş̸̯͍̫̓̔̋̃̔̂̈͂͊͟ ẉ̧̢̨̟̝̰̋̐̎̑̒̅͘͢͜ơ̧̻̺͎̙̔͗͗̔͂͂̋̕ų̢̡̛̪̩̜̱̳̀̾̈̀͌͢l̘̟̣̯̆̎̆̊̓ͅd̡͔̞̪̗̮̣̓̒͋͗̓͘ͅ h̞͙̰͈͖̥̩̠̬̻̄̋̄̑̏̚̚͠ǎ̢̧̡̹̹̞͔̗̰̑̂̇͘ͅp̷̧̡̨̟̝̹̪̖̦̹͋̏̆̄͂p̸̫̰̦̹̟͓̙͂͒͊̄̊͌̚̚ẹ̷͙̹͓̓̂̽̾̓̔͂̔͜͜͜͡n̴̢̧̬͙̘͚̮̈́͛̀̌̑͒̑̇**

            It was the worst thing she’d felt in her life. Her head split with the pain, her heart wanted to pound out of her chest. What she could see of her legs horrified her—it was as if she was being taken apart and put back together a thousand times, not always the right way. After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped—but she couldn’t sag in relief. She couldn’t move at all, or speak, or do anything but sit there and listen as Mortimer continued.

            **Minor infractions will lead to quantum destabilization as punishment. This will also occur if someone attempts to kill you before your work is done—you cannot be harmed in such a state.**

            Gee, thanks. That sounds _so helpful, really_.

            **If you go too far and ignore warnings, or fail in your mission, you will end up in the state you are currently in for all of eternity.**

Wait, _what_. That. That escalated quickly. That escalated _really quickly_ , like _yes the torture was bad_ but what the _heck_.

            **I suggest you cooperate. Goodbye.**

            Wait, wait no. That’s not…that’s not nearly enough information, they _still didn’t tell her what her mission was-_

_

            She could move again. She collapsed on the ground where she suddenly found herself, and looked around in confusion.

            Her backpack was gone. _Of course it was_. She was in the middle of a field. Where that field was, she didn’t know.

            Dumped in the middle of nature in another dimension with nothing but the clothes on her back, and no way home, and no idea where people could be found, and there were _Sparks_ here oh good heavens what if one of them wanted to take her apart—well! She laughed hysterically. At least THAT supposedly couldn’t happen! She’d begun to hyperventilate, and took a little while to calm herself down.

            _In, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, out, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And again, two, three, four-_

_  
            She’d found a village after walking for two days. She was _so hungry_. She’d almost passed out several times, but couldn’t trust herself to not eat a poisonous plant or something. Did the “phase away from danger” thing COUNT for eating poison? Would they think she was trying to get out of the job, and freeze her? Better not to risk it.

            A woman came up to her, and…that was not English. That was definitely not English. The whole comic was in English, and she hadn’t even _thought_ about the fact that it took place in Europe. Europa. Whatever.

            Well then. Time to learn…some romance language. French? She _thought_. In the meantime, she frowned for a moment. “Sprechen Sie Deutch?”

When the woman showed no sign of understanding German, she pointed to her mouth and her stomach, and then clasped her hands together pleadingly. “I don’t understand, I’m sorry, I only speak English and a little bit of German.” The woman sighed, then pointed to herself.

“Marie.”

She was about to follow her example, but hesitated. It felt…final, bringing her real name into this world. Like accepting that this was real, she was stuck here, and this would be the rest of her life.

She’d always been so careful to keep the comic fan separate from the person in real life, and so, when Marie gestured impatiently, she pointed to herself and said “Timmie.”

Timmie belonged in this world.

Timmie was going to _survive this_.


End file.
